ALAN CA ARTER LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS www.classicracer.com
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Exccerpts from his incredible book
GINGER MOLLLOY NO NONSENSE TOUGHH GUY
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#189
IF YOU WANTR TO GO FASTE
ER PL A N WHY YA M A H A’ S M A ST FO R TH E O W 60 W O R KE D
BACK TO THE FUTURE HOW HOW SUZUKI BROUGHT ITS KATAANA BACK FOR THE TRA CK
197 75 ITALLIAN GP CHANGING OFF THE (OLD) GUARD
STEVE HISLOP FLAWED GENIUS
PLUS: BENEDICTOCALDARELLA//AARONSLIGHT//AERMACCHILINEART//
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WHAT’SINSIDE 006 From the archive
050 Ginger Molloy
Three amazing photographs from the Classic Racer archive, each capturing a heady slice of action from the golden days of racing past.
A flying Kiwi who com mpeted around the world in G GP from 1965 to 1970. Cutting his teeth during those first forayys into Europe wasn’t easy for the hard-edged Molloy bu ut boy, did it come good.
012 Readers Write Great suggestions on bikes to feature, points raised that needed raising and a TT letter that is well worth reading – it’s been a busy time for the postman.
014 Paddock Gossip Malc’s been out and about, gathering up the interesting and necessary bits from the four corners of the classic racing paddock.
020 Line Art Courtesy of the impressively talented Mick Ofield, the exquisite 1969 Aermacchi 350 Ala d’Oro – that’s the Golden Wing, an apt name.
022 Subscribe If you’ve never subscribed before then this is a good time to do it. With the weather poor and not much in the way of reasons to go outside, subscribe and save money, get Classic Racer earlier and have it delivered to your door. Win win, as they say.
025 The 0W60 family line. Weapons At a time when racing motorcycles were fairly simple items with one objective, the smallest change either way could have the biggest impact. The two-stroke screamer from the tuning-fork brigade was no exception and its evolution was fascinating.
036 Dick Klamfoth Forever to be associated with the Daytona 200, Klamfoth’s run to the higher echelons of Americana two-wheels began when he was just 20 and he never really rolled off that throttle.
044 The Suzuki Katana Endurance race bike Suzuki GB hadn’t been racing (officially) for over four decades. When a few of the current SGB team decided it was time to return to the paddock they wanted something special to do it on. Turning the Katana from a road bike of the 1980s to a 152bhp missile wasn’t an easy task.
058 A stop in tim me A snapshot series of Kawasaki’s K slick team of refuellerss going about their business in n 1972. In these fleeting secon nds, a race could be won or lost.
060 Benedicto Caldarella The Argentinian won only one GP during his racing time, but if you u’re only ever going to win n one then make sure this is it (a clue: it’s on home soil).
066 Aaron Slight ‘Mr Nearly’ came so close to getting the WSB crown, so man ny times that many credit him as the spiritual winner of WSB at arguably its most competitive. Haircuts aside, Slighty always meant business.
072 Steve Hislop In his day, one of the fastest motorcycle racers on the planett. Even quicker than Valentino Rossi in the Italian’s heyday – an nd Steve was on inferior machineryy – but for every scrap of talent was a dab of dismay.
078 Clive Horton British 125cc Champion in 1977 and 1974 TT winner, Clive isn’t a man to pull his verbal punches.
084 Alan Carter: Light in the Darkness The first instalment of our threepart serialisation of the most incredible motorcycle racing book you’ll ever read. Get a taste of it here in Classic Racer and then go and buy yourself a copy of the tome. It’ll be one of the most fascinating books you’ll ever own.
090 1975: Italian Grand Prix An English rider took to Imola’s twists and turns on an Italian bike, an Italian did the same on a Japanese bike. Over 150,000 people turned out in the baking Italian sunshine to witness the scrap.
COVERSTORY
Wire cutters were used to snip away the fencing to get this amazing shot by the legendary Don Morley – Kenny Roberts in full flight on a YZR500 at Daytona. Don was thrown in jail after taking this photograph. Seriously.
ISSUE189 JANUARY/FEBRUARY2018 EDITOR Tony Carter tcarter@mortons.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Paul Deacon
PUBLISHER Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk
CIRCULATION MANAGER Steven O’Hara
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Don Morley, Malcolm Wheeler, Mick Ofield, Alan Cathcart, Norm DeWitt, Jamie Morris, Terry Stevenson, Bruce Cox, Don Emde, Raymond Ainscoe, Bertie Simmonds, Larry Carter, Chris Carter, Alan Carter, Jan Burgers, Graham Lawlor, Russ Lee
MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park
PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson SENIOR DESIGNER Kelvin Clements DESIGNERS Michael Baumber Libby Fincham DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Billy Manning ADVERTISING Leon Currie 01507 529413 lcurrie@mortons.co.uk Kieron Deekens 01507 529576 kdeekens@mortons.co.uk
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Dan Savage COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole EDITORIAL ADDRESS Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR UK WEBSITE www.classicracer.com GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES 01507 529529 24hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk PICTURE DESK Paul Fincham Jonathan Schofield ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES Jane Skayman 01507 529423 jskayman@mortons.co.uk
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CLASSIC RACER (USPS:706-150) is published bi-monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $30 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to CLASSIC RACER, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@ classicbikebooks.com Printed by William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton ISSN No 1470-4463 © Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
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YEAR:1982//TRACK:DONINGTON// CORNER:REDGATE//KEITH HUEWEN DOESN'T REALLY CARE WHAT, OR WHO, IS BEHIND HIM AND HIS FACTORY SUZUKI 500 AND THE CAMERA CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THE RED AND YELLOW, EITHER. For one racer it’s a moment of reflection as to where the line could have been better, braking could have been a bit later, commitment to the corner could have been a bit more. Or perhaps for Gary Lingham on number 30 it’s more a case of collecting thoughts before attacking Donington on another lap. No such thoughts are coursing through the mind of Keith Huewen however. It is 1982 and the man who these days is the king of the commentators is away with, as our continental cousins like to say, full gas. The effort was seasoned with one disadvantage though. Number 19 was on Dunlops when Michelin was the tyre of the day – always something to consider when giving the big Suzuki its legs. With the added focus of time and his usual good nature, Keith remembers that time well: “A factory bike is fast and edgy. It has the potential to be faster but only if the pilot has that bit extra in him to find the potential! And if the crew is clever, too! “My experience is that they are never quite what they are cracked up to be (factory, bike or team)!”
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YEAR: 1994//CIRCUIT: ALBACETE, SPAIN//CORNER: CURVA JORDI GENE// IT'S FAST, REALLY FAST. THE KAWASAKI HAS THE INSIDE LINE, READY FOR THE NEXT CORNER BUT HASN'T QUITE COUNTED ON THE TENACITY OF THE FACTORY RVF HONDA HOWLING AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF TURN SIX. Two riders who epitomised the world Superbike championship’s bare-knuckle fight feel in the early part of the 1990s, were Scott Russell and Doug Polen. Whilst Russell became legendary for his attitude to life and the racing scene, Polen preferred to do his talking on track. Winning the world Superbike title in 1991 and 1992 is testimony to the man who, in 1994, joined the Castrol Honda squad based in Louth, Lincolnshire and shifted the bikes on to Dunlops because it was his preferred tyre of choice. That year did not quite match the dizzy heights of four years earlier.Three third places was as good as it got and 1995 saw the American return to the US Superbike championship, a title he also took in 1993. So it was that Polen, the man often overlooked in the chatter of race fans when debating the merits of racing nearly three decades ago, ended his time in WSB with a few podiums, but not much more. A shame when you look back on that 1992 season – WSB king and second in the AMA Superbikes too. What’s a guy got to do to get some kudos in racing history? Polen deserves his place in race fans’ hearts.
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A racer does everything he can to make sure that he will cross the finish line of a race in the shortest time possible. In an ideal world, a motorcycle is tuned to the absolute maximum so that it gives every scrap of power it can for as long as possible, before expiring as it crosses the line at the end of the last lap. Once it wins the race, the motor can die – there’s plenty of time to rebuild it after the action has ended. Likewise, you want the last drop of fuel to pass through the contained explosions between one’s legs as
you cross the line to take the chequered flag. Winning as you do. To carry more fuel than you need is folly. It’s weight you don’t need. It robs you of time. Extra fuel is not your friend. But then... imagine if you run out... Better to be safe than sorry. And then ride it that much harder to make up for the weight penalty brought on for a bit of fuel security. Ride it like the wind, Don. Give ’em’ hell.
RIDER: DON EMDE//YEAR: 1971//CIRCUIT: DONINGTON//CORNER: START/FINISH STRAIGHT//WHEN RACES WERE WON AND LOST BY THE SMALLEST OF MARGINS, THERE'S NO ROOM TO MISS OUT ON ANYTHING THAT COULD GIVE YOU THE UPPER HAND.
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If you want to get in touch… Then please do. We read every letter, email and comment sent to us and we enjoy hearing from you. Contact us if you’ve an event coming up, a motorcycle you own or just want to let us know about something you find interesting in Classic Racer’s world.
In reply to Mr Chatterton and others
HERE’S AN IDEA! MONO IT! Dear CR I enjoyed reading about Steve Wheatman’s super rare Suzuki RGV250 racer and agree that bike is a genuine work of mechanical art. Following on from that, is there any chance you could do a similar article on another super rare racer? The one I am thinking about is the 1993 Ducati Super Mono 549cc which was also described as a work of art.
I believe one of your contributors, a certain Alan Cathcart, owned and raced one of these singles in the now defunct Sound of Singles world series. Terry Birch Nottingham Thank you for the suggestionTerry, we are fully on the same page as you and are looking into featuring this very motorcycle in a future edition. Spot on! TC
STAR LETTER PRIZE Remember to keep sending in your letters. We want to hear your stories and find out what you think of the magazine. Each issue we’ll pick a star letter, the writer of which will win a superb package courtesy of Duke Video!
On the G50 Metisse Dear CR It was nice to see the line drawing of the G50 Metisse in CR 187. The machine as drawn would be 1967 spec onwards. The front forks were 1966/7 and the front and rear hubs with brakes probably slightly later.
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The early 1965 bikes used AMC forks and most of the customer bikes were bought 1966 onwards. These machines were not bad handlers but on very fast, bumpy corners, for example the Thruxton circuit, you could get them shaking their head a bit. The Rickman brothers first changed the frame as drawn, in a hush-hush way, on the BP-backed Tom Kirby entered machine used very successfully by Alan u Barnett in 1968/9. This bike had the engine tilted and moved forward and downwards in the frame; the exhaust was cut and welded to come round the front down tubes. The cylinder head trimming nearly touched the frame at this point. I think most people at the time were unaware of these works models, it was certainly not advertised. My brother, Nigel
Dear CR I feel I must comment on the letter from Gordon Chatterton (no relation) issue 187, regarding ‘his gripe’ as he calls it, on the TT races. While I agree that any death in racing is one too many, Gordon will find if he checks the figure, which is easily done in these Google days, that the current fatal accident figures are substantially lower than in the 1950s for instance, which I would guess is Gordon’s favourite TT decade and one of mine too. For example, in the years 1950 to 1959 there were 44 races with 19 deaths. In the years 2008 to 2017 there were almost twice as many races, 85, with 17 losses of life, four of which were from the sidecar class which didn’t run on the mountain circuit in the 1950s. These figures are quite surprising as it would have been logical to expect more accidents from substantially more races. There are a number of reasons for this of course, not least the helicopter rescue which I have personal experience of, receiving hospital treatment 20 minutes after crashing. Pre-helicopter days, depending on where the incident was, the chances of receiving hospital treatment before the end of a race were slim and from the mountain, less than that. Other major safety factors include vastly improved and increased circuit protection, long gone are the straw bales and sand bags, no racing or practice in adverse conditions, much stricter newcomer vetting and
Palmer was offered these frame alterations to his machine by the factory in early 1969. He also used a scrambler yoke with his Rickman forks, where Alan Barnett used standard top and bottom yokes on his Tom Kirby entered machine. Nigel’s Metisse was one of the best handling 500 singles around at the time, it was perfect! He did ride my near standard five-speed G50 Matchless once and thought the handling dreadful in comparison. I hope this is of some interest to some of you after all these years. Derek Palmer Great Kimble A very interesting letter Derek, thank you very much for sending it to us. We really appreciate it when CR’s genuinely amazing readership contribute with such a depth of knowledge about how a particular motorcycle performed or handled. TC